SAN FERNANDO – The effort to keep the J.C. Penney in San Fernando open was lost over the weekend when the store shut down, but a battle resumed on Monday over efforts to retain reminders of the store’s historic legacy.

During a spirited press conference in front of the newly shuttered department store, residents and community leaders blasted J.C. Penney for trying to take down the decades-old neon sign that adorns the front of the building off San Fernando Mission Boulevard. | See photo gallery.

Building owner Severyn Aszkenazy claimed ownership of the sign, noting his company spent about $350,000 upgrading the building facade and even hired a historian as part of the project to help restore the neon sign, which hadn’t been lit in 40 years.

He said he received a message on his cell phone at 10:40 p.m. Sunday showing video of men taking down the metal letters bolted to the wall above the back entrance of the J.C. Penney store, apparently on their way to next take down the sign itself.

Residents called police to stop the men. San Fernando Police Sgt. Saul Garibay said the men said they were hired by Penney’s, but it was unclear if they were telling the truth.

“They did not have the proper permits,” Garibay said. “We’re not sure if they were with Penney’s.”

San Fernando Mayor Pro Tem Antonio Lopez said one of the men taking down the letters told him: “If you’d arrived a half hour later, this sign would have been on eBay.”

J.C. Penney did not return requests for comment Monday. The company also has not offered an explanation to city leaders why it chose to close the San Fernando store.

Severyn Aszkenazy and his wife Martha Diaz Aszkenazy, who chairs the board of directors for the Valley Economic Alliance, blamed J.C. Penney on Monday, not only for trying to dismantle a historical landmark, but for choosing to close a store beloved by the mostly Latino clientele.

Diaz Aszkenazy called the corporation’s decision nothing short of economic racism.

The closure comes just as San Fernando is also making news for a series of sex and police department scandals, and an ongoing recall effort against three city council members.

The two issues collided briefly during Monday’s press conference, when Mayor Brenda Esqueda, one of those facing the recall effort, stepped in front of television news microphones and said she was disappointed she wasn’t invited to speak.

She said it was time for the community to accept J.C. Penney’s departure and work with the landlords to encourage new tenants.

“This is a sad day that J.C. Penney is gone, but we need to turn a negative into a positive,” she said. “I wish J.C. Penney well, but it’s time to move forward.”

Another man in the crowd accused the Aszkenazys of chasing the company away by raising rents too high along the San Fernando street mall. But Severyn Aszkenazy said Penney’s had renewed its lease recently in an agreement for an undisclosed amount. The rent was 21 percent less than market value, he said.

Community leaders and residents have been trying to stop J.C. Penney from leaving San Fernando since an announcement in June.

The department store first came to the city in 1920, moving only once to a 60,000-square-foot building near the northwest corner of San Fernando Road and San Fernando Mission Boulevard in 1953. The store anchors a street mall dominated by bridal shops and furniture stores.

Nearly 2,000 signatures were gathered on online and written petitions and local celebrities such as George Lopez are featured in videos on a website called savesanfernandojcpenney.com voicing their support for the store.

Many residents said the department store has served the community for generations, a place where abuelitas bought calzones and youths spent money on back to school sneakers and clothing.

Dolores Huerta, the civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers of America, has promised to lend her support, said Julian Ruelas, who has organized rallies to stop the closure.

The group has also appealed to Ellen DeGeneres, who is a spokeswoman for Penney’s. A dozen community members held signs of protest read: “JCP: Don’t kill a dream,” and “Ellen: Where are you?”

Whether the community can claim ownership of and save the signage is a complicated legal matter, said Robert Bridges, assistant professor of clinical finance and business economics at USC’s Marshall School of Business

“The legal issues are related to trademarks,” Bridges said. “People think there are inherent rights because something has been in a community a long time. Generally, businesses are sensitive to those things.”

As Penney’s continues to overhaul its national image to compete with modern stores, the company may have undisclosed financial reasons for leaving San Fernando.

“To me the one thing that is puzzling is why would the company ignores a community that wants them,” Bridges said.

San Fernando city administrator Al Hernandez has said it was unclear why Penney’s chose to leave. In several calls to the company’s Plano, Texas headquarters, he was given conflicting reasons for the closure, he said.

During the first quarter of 2012, the company reported losses of $163 million, or 75 cents a share compared with a profit of $64 million, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier.

But Hernandez said the San Fernando store was turning in decent sales.

Meanwhile, the metal letters that were taken down were put back in place by Monday morning.

Hernandez said there are plans to list the building as a historic site to preserve it, even if another store comes in.

But some, such as Tujunga resident Leslie DeVillez, said it doesn’t matter much to her if Penney’s comes back or not, just as long as another merchant offers the soft goods she needs. Both nearby Kmart and Sears have closed in recent years, and the closest Penney’s is 11 miles away in Northridge.

DeVillez said she took advantage of the 50 percent off sales last week at Penney’s.

“Well, they can’t reopen it anyway,” she said. “I even bought their fixtures.”

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SAN FERNANDO – The effort to keep the J.C. Penney in San Fernando open was lost over the weekend when the store shut down, but a battle resumed on Monday over efforts to retain reminders of the store’s historic legacy.

During a spirited press conference in front of the newly shuttered department store, residents and community leaders blasted J.C. Penney for trying to take down the decades-old neon sign that adorns the front of the building off San Fernando Mission Boulevard. | See photo gallery.

Building owner Severyn Aszkenazy claimed ownership of the sign, noting his company spent about $350,000 upgrading the building facade and even hired a historian as part of the project to help restore the neon sign, which hadn’t been lit in 40 years.

He said he received a message on his cell phone at 10:40 p.m. Sunday showing video of men taking down the metal letters bolted to the wall above the back entrance of the J.C. Penney store, apparently on their way to next take down the sign itself.

Residents called police to stop the men. San Fernando Police Sgt. Saul Garibay said the men said they were hired by Penney’s, but it was unclear if they were telling the truth.

“They did not have the proper permits,” Garibay said. “We’re not sure if they were with Penney’s.”

San Fernando Mayor Pro Tem Antonio Lopez said one of the men taking down the letters told him: “If you’d arrived a half hour later, this sign would have been on eBay.”

J.C. Penney did not return requests for comment Monday. The company also has not offered an explanation to city leaders why it chose to close the San Fernando store.

Severyn Aszkenazy and his wife Martha Diaz Aszkenazy, who chairs the board of directors for the Valley Economic Alliance, blamed J.C. Penney on Monday, not only for trying to dismantle a historical landmark, but for choosing to close a store beloved by the mostly Latino clientele.

Diaz Aszkenazy called the corporation’s decision nothing short of economic racism.

The closure comes just as San Fernando is also making news for a series of sex and police department scandals, and an ongoing recall effort against three city council members.

The two issues collided briefly during Monday’s press conference, when Mayor Brenda Esqueda, one of those facing the recall effort, stepped in front of television news microphones and said she was disappointed she wasn’t invited to speak.

She said it was time for the community to accept J.C. Penney’s departure and work with the landlords to encourage new tenants.

“This is a sad day that J.C. Penney is gone, but we need to turn a negative into a positive,” she said. “I wish J.C. Penney well, but it’s time to move forward.”

Another man in the crowd accused the Aszkenazys of chasing the company away by raising rents too high along the San Fernando street mall. But Severyn Aszkenazy said Penney’s offered to stay for an additional five years at a 21 percent rent reduction. Aszkenazy agreed, but Penney’s did not follow through on the deal, he said.

Community leaders and residents have been trying to stop J.C. Penney from leaving San Fernando since an announcement in June.

The department store first came to the city in 1920, moving only once to a 60,000-square-foot building near the northwest corner of San Fernando Road and San Fernando Mission Boulevard in 1953. The store anchors a street mall dominated by bridal shops and furniture stores.

Nearly 2,000 signatures were gathered on online and written petitions and local celebrities such as George Lopez are featured in videos on a website called savesanfernandojcpenney.com voicing their support for the store.

Many residents said the department store has served the community for generations, a place where abuelitas bought calzones and youths spent money on back to school sneakers and clothing.

Dolores Huerta, the civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers of America, has promised to lend her support, said Julian Ruelas, who has organized rallies to stop the closure.

The group has also appealed to Ellen DeGeneres, who is a spokeswoman for Penney’s. A dozen community members held signs of protest read: “JCP: Don’t kill a dream,” and “Ellen: Where are you?”

Whether the community can claim ownership of and save the signage is a complicated legal matter, said Robert Bridges, assistant professor of clinical finance and business economics at USC’s Marshall School of Business

“The legal issues are related to trademarks,” Bridges said. “People think there are inherent rights because something has been in a community a long time. Generally, businesses are sensitive to those things.”

As Penney’s continues to overhaul its national image to compete with modern stores, the company may have undisclosed financial reasons for leaving San Fernando.

“To me the one thing that is puzzling is why would the company ignores a community that wants them,” Bridges said.

San Fernando city administrator Al Hernandez has said it was unclear why Penney’s chose to leave. In several calls to the company’s Plano, Texas headquarters, he was given conflicting reasons for the closure, he said.

During the first quarter of 2012, the company reported losses of $163 million, or 75 cents a share compared with a profit of $64 million, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier.

But Hernandez said the San Fernando store was turning in decent sales.

Meanwhile, the metal letters that were taken down were put back in place by Monday morning.

Hernandez said there are plans to list the building as a historic site to preserve it, even if another store comes in.

But some, such as Tujunga resident Leslie DeVillez, said it doesn’t matter much to her if Penney’s comes back or not, just as long as another merchant offers the soft goods she needs. Both nearby Kmart and Sears have closed in recent years, and the closest Penney’s is 11 miles away in Northridge.

DeVillez said she took advantage of the 50 percent off sales last week at Penney’s.

“Well, they can’t reopen it anyway,” she said. “I even bought their fixtures.”

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.